Making superhero gear make sense (mostly Marvel related)

[Dyir]

I once had a superhero setting where there was a superhuman subculture, and the "costumes" were actually a fashion style that they created. In that setting, nearly all superhumans were physically perfect and attractive, so skin-tight clothing with garish colors was a way of flaunting their "superiority" over the "mundanes." Then again, in that setting, the government-supported superhero teams did wear special forces uniforms and weapons. I guess it depends on how you want to spin it and how realistic you really want the universe to be.

 

[Umbran]

There's even some reasons for the costumes that make... well, at least a little sense:

Heroes generally aren't about sneaking into a place, doing something undetected, and sneaking out again. Okay, sometimes they do such things, but that isn't their typical raison d'etre.

Heroes are there to stand between the villains and the normal populace. The heroes want the bad guys to leave the innocents alone. The heroes typically want to be differentiated even from standard police, SWAT, and military personnel, who are typically incapable of handling super-powered threats. So, those costumes are like painting big targets on their chests, to attract the villain's attention.

In addition, you notice how in the real world, venomous animals and plants are often very brightly colored, as a warning? Same principle - it is a signal to KEEP AWAY. Normal people seeing two guys in fatigues slugging it out might well be tempted to join in. If they're dressed up like that, normal people will tend to stay the heck away.

In addition, standard military and paramilitary gear is based in standard human technology, which is bulky and cumbersome by hero standards. A standard infantryman wears 40 pounds of kit, and his gear might stop a bullet. Captain America's costume can also stop a bullet, but he can perform Olympic-level athletics in it at the same time.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In a lot of cases, superheroic costumes are about the psychology of their foes. It can be dangerous to go into melee combat with loose clothing...and yet one of comicdom's most famous fighters- Batman- wears a cape. Why?

In part for practical reasons- he knows how to use it as a weapon, and some of his capes conceal hidden functionalities- but it is also about presenting an image of a "creature of the night" and thereby prey upon the subconscious fears of his foes. (Secret: the high-contrast yellow/black bat symbol on his chest in some costumes is designed to present a bullseye to shooters...it's the most heavily armored portion of his costume.)

Personally, were I a superhero IRL, depending upon my powers, I'd favor Magnum combat boots, heavy-duty cargo jeans or army surplus pants and Russell Athletic/Champion hoodies. I would have a utility belt or bandolier if only for a flashlight, pepper spray and handcuffs...and a place to store my sunglasses (). A good combat knife might also come in handy.

Similarly, when I was part of a GURPS: Vampire playtest, I ran a PC based on The Tick and Blade. A PI who went insane when he was converted, he continued to fight crime. He was a Brujah so insane most other vampires thought he was Malkavian: his strength and toughness made him think he was a superhero. He still wore body armor & a WW2 army surplus helmet and carried twin repeating hand-crossbows...all the better for him to combat the other super-powered beings he had encountered on his patrols (other vampires).

 

[fireinthedust]

Why would you fight crime with a sai, when a gun is deadlier, and in many cases, more legal?

Because guns make noise. A sai is a ninja weapon, and silence, theatricality, being deadly are what ninjas in comics are about.

Why doesn't Superman have a utility belt...

He has a compartment in his belt buckle that's shielded and can hold a kryptonite ring.
More important, however, he rarely needs anything. He can move fast enough and with enough precision that he can act as any tool he needs. See heat vision for a lot of fine tuning work. His senses cover any scanning he needs to do. This is the opposite of a hero who would need anything.

why doesn't Batman wear his anti-Kryptonian battlesuit more often?

He's a ninja. Could you sneak around, crawl in ventilation shafts, or convince people you are a living bat-monsters of the shadows, wearing a giant suit? It's clunky.
If he was going to do that, he'd be Iron Man; who isn't, I might add, the hero for the job of the criminals Batman has to deal with. Nor a Mystery Man detective.

How is a person who can split into three people any more useful than any given three people who are not special forces ninjas?

communication. And if this is the one from Legion, special training as well. And she's not "normal", compared to a bystander like a taxi driver or a hot dog vendor, or an office mook. She's got moxy to be a hero.

Why are there any cyborgs left alive in the Marvel Universe when they could so easily be killed with high energy microwave weapons?

Carry a microwave around for a day. All day. No putting it down. Heavy, eh? Well, that's why.

Better question: why are there so many humans when they can be killed by... anything!!! A gun is the tip of the iceberg.

If a Cyborg can only be killed by a microwave, that's awesome: 99.9% of weapons are not high energy microwave weapons. There aren't even superheroes who use Microwaves, at least not many, and they may not even be working this particular case.


The costumes are there because they accent the human form. It's a great excuse to draw naked people, just like the renaissance. They're not naked, but they are. I have drawn comics, and while I don't do genitalia, I do do (sorry) everything leading up to that before drawing in the lines of even armor or equipment.
Not sex, mind you, but the human form. And it's okay, and no one feels ashamed of themselves, and no one even notices how really naked everyone really is. Weird, right?

Comics are also about power fantasies. Note how everyone looks awesome, with bodies that blow your/my mind, and they are super strong, and smash things, and explode with energy. There are a lot of billionaires (used to be millionaires, but now it's Billionaires), and scientists who make other scientists look like idiots. Lots of non-power characters who just cannot lose (and for no good reason, either; especially sucker-punching Thor or Superman to drive home this point). Lots of flying, and a fight in every. single. comic.

I suppose there's a thing about powers or equipment. Only the Rob Liefield creations really crossed that line for protagonists (at least in a loud way), with Cable and Deadpool using gear. Excluding cybernetics, of course (ie: wolverine's claws).

Anyway, sounds like you've never gone 4-color.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I'm about to start a superhero game on January, based on Marvel comics. However, I've gotta a realistic taste to things, and it seems that my game will be more like Heroes-flavored Marvel.

I think everyone's giving good advice on why superheroes wear the costumes that they do. That said, if you wanted a more realistic taste for a Heroes-flavored game, it's fine to have the characters wear the paramilitary type outfits. It would be a different subgenre than the tights superheroes and probably wouldn't work well with many of the traditional trappings found in comic books (saving the falling damsel, witty banter with the supervillains, etc.). But if you want the JLA to be a black ops group, go for it! (Incidentally, the J. Michael Strackzynski series "Supreme" would be great source material for a Heroes-esk game like that.)

You might want to have the game take place in your own setting instead of the Marvel Universe because it might not fit perfectly into the traditional MU. But with gods, mutants, radioactive spiders, aliens, and gun-toting Vietnam vets all in the same universe any concept you come up with should be able to find some corner to reside in.

 

[Kraydak]

There is, of course, a difference between superhero-comics and superhero-rpgs. The comics character has plot protection: the only time he will be in trouble because he came ill-equipped is when it is important for another character who can handle the problem and who is, miraculously, available. This doesn't work nearly as well in rpgs, and so PCs will tend to load themselves down.

 

[Krensky]

A column on ICv2 today talks about this:

ICv2 - Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk--Up, Up and Away!

Basically, the X-Men dress like that because they're superheroes. The cape and spandex are part of the genre. That's why Edna in The Incredibles is funny.

 

[Remathilis]

There is, of course, a difference between superhero-comics and superhero-rpgs. The comics character has plot protection: the only time he will be in trouble because he came ill-equipped is when it is important for another character who can handle the problem and who is, miraculously, available. This doesn't work nearly as well in rpgs, and so PCs will tend to load themselves down.

Actually, I find the same is true for nearly all fiction-to-RPG; Star Wars is the one I'm most familiar with. Most of the heroes carried no more than a blaster (or lightsaber) and maybe a couple odd pieces of equipment (comlinks, Qui-Gon's breaher-mask, etc). Heck, Luke and Han only carry a utility belt after stealing off a Stormtrooper in the Death Star!

Yet most SWRPG PCs I meet load their backpacks up like they are taking an extended safarii on Dagobah! 2-3 weapons (a pistol or two, and a melee like a vibroblade or lightsaber), 5-6 energy packs, blast-vest, survival gear, utlity belt, etc. It probably grows out of the D&D "take their stuff" mentality, but its bloody genre inappropriate.

 

[ValhallaGH]

...its bloody genre inappropriate.

And rules appropriate. Which means that the rules do not reflect the genre.
This is a flaw in the rules being used by most Star Wars RPGs, as well as many Supers RPGs.

 

[Remathilis]

And rules appropriate. Which means that the rules do not reflect the genre.
This is a flaw in the rules being used by most Star Wars RPGs, as well as many Supers RPGs.

I think its a flaw in RPGs in general.

I recall running a "Beyond the Supernatural" one-shot on a college campus where the PCs were invited to a Frat party that just-so-happened to also be a giant Satanic orgy. Immediately, these normal, everyday college kids whip out their handguns and start firing! I kindly remind them that firearms are prohibited on college campuses, which turns into a logic-defying twist of reality that allowed them to secretly pack enough heat to take down a rhino (not to mention a demonic entity) while also managing to have flashlights, medical kits, extra ammo, and a bowie knife on stashed on various persons.

I'm certain this mentality comes from the "11-foot pole" era of D&D, where people load their charsheets up with extra junk (mundane and magical) to have the answer to nearly any problem they could possibly encounter. It fails miserably when taken out of the Dungeon mentality however. Few, if any people carry more than a wallet, keys, cellphone, make-up, pen, chapstick or perhaps a pocket-knife (and that's becoming increasingly uncommon).